I base my picks on the ones with the best music. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Be My Valentine, It's the Easter Beagle, There's No Time for Love, Good Sport, etc.
I am 62 years old black woman and growing up watching Franklin on The Peanuts meant so much to me. It was so important having a black character on The Peanuts. He was so cool but not ghetto. Thank you, Mr. Schultz and family. I can't wait to see the new cartoon featuring Franklin. God bless you all.
I never had the impression that Franklin Armstrong was Charlie Brown's best friend. Franklin seems closer to Peppermint Patty and Marcy, and the three of them sometimes intersect with Charlie Brown's group. From what I've observed, Charlie Brown's best friend is Linus van Pelt. Those two hang around together a lot.
Yes. If you read the strip carefully, you find that Franklin, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie (as well as José Peterson) all live in a different part of town from the rest of the Peanuts gang. For example, when they play baseball, one team has to trek all the way across town (April 7, 1974). Or when Charlie Brown's school building collapses, he has to temporarily go across town to attend Peppermint Patty's school (January 12, 1976), and share a desk with her (January 13, 1976).
I believe Charlie Brown doesn’t have any friends - no one that recognizes him as one. I haven’t read a lot of Franklin but I got the idea they came together as different from the rest - kinda like a bond between outcasts.
@@efdangotu It happens. When I was growing up in the 1960s in the Ravenswood Projects of Long Island City, Queens, NY, we had plenty of Black people, but we also had some Irish, Italians, Jews, and Hispanics. In fact, there was a small synagogue just across the street, a couple of blocks from a very large Catholic church.
For people we simple see a character or a person the color or race doesn’t bear deep meaning. We try to uphold what Rev Dr MLK said “judged on the content of their character not the color of their skin.” Most people aren’t racist. The few that are are given a disproportionate amount of attention by media. It’s sad.
One of my favorite Peanuts strips is from the strips where Charlie Brown and Franklin met at the beach. Charlie Brown asks Franklin if his whole family is there with him, and Franklin says no, because his dad is fighting in Vietnam. Charlie Brown then says that his dad was also in a war, but he forgets which one. It makes me laugh because that's such a little kid way of thinking about it.
I grew up seeing Franklin and being very happy that he was a part of the game, but not knowing much about him. I appreciate the history and look forward to seeing special.
@@jaelge When there was a push to create Franklin the percentage of people who were identified as Black in the U.S. was higher. e.g., nearly 25 percent. Recall that Franklin was created around the Civil Rights Era/ Black representation doesn't have to be just about numbers. It is also a qualitative matter.
I think the comics and shows make it clear that Linus is Charlie’s best friend. Franklin is a cool character and I liked what they did with him in the Peanuts movie. But to be honest I never thought of Franklin as the black kid. I just saw him as one of the Peanuts kids.
As a black child, I most definitely noticed that Franklin was black. Not only was he black, he was the only black person in all of peanut land. There is no pride in not "seeing" the race of a person (real or not). Your statement makes as much sense as saying you don't see gender. Of course you do. And, it's okay that you do.
@@tanyl1 - Excellent comment. Thank you. For me, it was A Snowy Day that gave me the motivation to learn to read. I wanted to read that book myself so badly. All children need to see themselves and yes, they notice very early.
Him or Snoopy. I don't think anyone has ever said Franklin was even remotely close. Just a token black character that people don't want to admit to. It's nothing to be ashamed of in that time period. It was pretty progressive actually. That said, they never put a lot of effort into him.
Oddly enough, Charlie Brown at one point said that Linus was his best friend. After seeing the cartoons, I questioned how good a friend Linus really is. On two occasions he stolen any girl Charlie Brown has a crush on. The Little Red Haired Girl on New Years Eve and some girl that Charlie Brown saw on TV. I'm surprised that Schroeder wasn't his best friend because he was the one that stood up for him when Violet tried to give him a used Valentine!
You can have more than one best friend. Linus might have been the one he hung out with the most but that's mostly because they went to the same school. Linus was the therapist friend that would give Charlie Brown advice but the boy sometimes channeled his sisters negative energy and could be a bit harsh. Franklin was usually a lot nicer and seemed to bond with Charlie Brown about their difficulties fitting in.
Thank you for posting. I was 12 when Franklin debuted, my mon said it was about time and Shultz was brave to do this character. I'm sure it had major impact around many a breakfast table. Good on him.
Were there lots of actual diverse tables where white kids and black kids sat together during that time period? If the answer is no, then Franklin's addition is woke propaganda.
@@colliswilliams8992 Not everyone is as racist as you, and whats wrong with propaganda if it encourages people to love and accept eachother? You can't just call something propaganda to say it's bad because that itself means nothing. But why am I even responding to you? You're just some troll.
@@carpballetIn the Caribbean, a lot of parents are scared of their children drowning while they were busy with something else. They instill fear in their children to stay away from the sea. According to CS Monitor, 80% of Bahamians cannot swim.
Wow. That was so beautiful. I gotta admit, I read and loved Charlie Brown daily as a kid. I was 12 in 1968 and the advent of Franklin never dawned upon me. He was one of the gang. It may also be related that we loved watching The Little Rascals after school, so a Franklin character was a nonissue
you may not have seen color, but most everyone else in America did. You should research the context surrounding Buckwheat. It would be awesome if one day a wholesome black neighbor is the norm in an otherwise all white cast.
@@AndreaCallahan These days it's more likely to be one white character in all black cast. But I probably wouldn't watch it anyway, just like why would blacks even want to watch a show with only one black character. There's tons of all black shows they can enjoy. I don't see any issue. Something for everyone.
THANK YOU. My first reaction was that this would be another poorly made modern adaptation. I’m happy to hear that someone with a history and real connection is involved. Fingers crossed that it turns out well.
I was Just visiting the Peanuts Museum in Santa Rosa, You need to go too if you get the chance! The staff is so knowledgeable about the whole subject especially the recreation of his studio on the 2nd floor, It is next door to the Redwood Empire Ice Rink he built and the history of the Rink is astounding. He was a autograph collector, he loved solitude and His unit in WWII liberated Dachau! Seriously thanks so much for making this, I teared up at your narration. Franklin And Charlie's is so important to the past present and future.
When I first got married some 29 years ago, I visited some museum of the Peanuts cartoon, I don't remember which one. It had enlarged pictures of Peanuts strips, but focused, iirc, mostly on Snoopy. I would love to go back there, but I can't remember where it was. Probably somewhere in New York or New Jersey. Maybe Connecticut. I don't know.
I used to love there. I loved walking past the statue. Back in the day, media was so limited anyway. So whether the characters were black or not, there wasn't very much to choose from. I'm 2 years younger than Franklin. There was never this huge, "oh look, black character" moment. He was just another one of the Peanuts gang. The racism is not in the comics.
Maybe Lucy and Schoeder were going to sit at that side of the table, but Schroeder was too caught up in his piano practice and Lucy was too caught up in Schroeder.
I think your right. It's likely Lucy was supposed to be in the special originally but got cut at the last minute. That explains why there's an empty seat with a table setting next to Franklin.
I thought Charlie Brown simply just didn't want Lucy around due to her being so crabby, bossy and rude all the time. Peppermint Patty's response to Charlie Brown's poor Thanksgiving dinner is something I would have expected from Lucy!
I just had a conversation with my best friend about Franklin. It encouraged me to dig for Franklin's history and I have forwarded this video to him. Thanks so much for this. 🏆
When I was a kid in the 70s watching the Thanksgiving special I never noticed Franklin sitting by himself. I was too much into the happy spirit of the holiday season to be paying attention to the race of the characters & their seating positions.
I wondered why at first he was by himself on that side since it made the seating uneven and cramped, but then I saw him across from Charlie Brown and instantly thought that was why XD He gets a clear shot to talk to his friend! Better for conversation, duh! lol
Yup. And still to this day at the age of 57 will watch the Charlie Brown The Great Pumpkin, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials. None of this stuff ever crossed my mind. Still doesn't.
I could be wrong here, but I feel like the trick to successfully incorporating a black character into an existing work without it feeling patronizing or like a token character, is to just make the character a person. If you make the character's presence all about the fact that they're black, it's gonna feel forced. If you make the character a decent person who just behaves like a normal person that happens to be black, the only people to complain will be people who care about skin colour. If Franklin's special is about him meeting new friends and not fitting in at first because he's new, that'll be fine. If it's about him meeting new people and not fitting in because he's black, it's going to be lousy. (Not that that story is inherently bad, but because that's not what Franklin's story is meant to be.)
They might put in the time when Shultz published the comic and have the focus on Franklin coming to find friends who liked him as a person, not his skin color. It might be as you say too, telling his story as a person. I'm not sure about watching it myself, tbh
not fitting in places because I was black was a HUGE part of my upbringing. It may not be part of your upbringing, but it is for a lot of people it's about writing a good character. race is interwoven throughout our society. acting like it doesn't affect people, or that it doesn't affect people's decision-making, is doing a disservice to the stories of millions of people
@@JasonBoyce Never did I say that it doesn't affect people, or anything like that. I only said that in the case of Franklin's character in Peanuts, that's not the case, thus the new adaptation should stick to that. Adding in racial tension in media where it doesn't need to be only makes racial tensions worse in real life.
@@TheOtherGuys2 "adding in racial tensions where it doesn't need to be only adds racial tensions in real life" this is bull. multiple newspapers refused to print the strip because Franklin was in it. those racial tensions absolutely existed in real life. In real life, states banned *Sesame Street* because the characters weren't segregated. Acknowledging racism doesn't create racism, racists create racism
Crazy to think that as late as 1970’s editors protested Franklin and Peppermint Patty sitting together in school. Cool story about Franklin’s last name origin. But I always thought Linus was Charlie Brown’s best friend.
What's crazy about that?? Do you not know that the Civil Rights Movement ended only after its leader the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968?? I know they call this the 'microwave generation' but really! History is not something far in the past. These things just happened!! Some schools were still segregated in the 1970s!! Don't believe the people who try to put everything bad in the U.S. as something in the distant past that no one living has any connection to. Many of us lived through the segregation and Jim Crow of the U.S. and all sorts of discrimination. And things are still happening today. Just because you see that black people have made a lot of progress in a short period of time, don't be fooled into thinking that was some long gone era. Those same hateful people and their children didn't just die off in 1968.
As a kid watching that scene in the Thanksgiving special I always attributed the fact they weren't sitting next to him was because they were all afraid to be near that crazy broken chair that snoopy had previously struggled with. Later as an adult I noticed it just might be for different reasons. Thanks for clearing that up.
It's ridiculous when taken more seriously than a joke meme. There were other kids at the edges of the table. At least the special didn't get condescending like superhero movies, and also referenced the beach ball in first appearance. Glad the vid explained halfway through to spotlight. Schulz wouldn't risk his career if he didn't like Franklin. Fun fact, Schulz at least succeeded, even a struggle to get Franklin on page with the white girls, unlike Lion Man issue 2 that the retailers just said no to a black superhero that sold.
And now even more grown up, we hear the exact same outrages "USA is and has always been racist!" as we hear from that time we were not actually present to. So every era has this media manufacturing coming out of it, as if TV is real life, that back then it was so bad we need to enable repercussive action today. Even Israel responds to 1300 dead with 13 000 Plaestinian children, dead. And how every other media outlet is being canceled, in the name of this "somebody might get outraged" narrative. Risking careers left and right. "remember our victimhood and JUST let us do them in!"
Linus is on his own side and Marcie is on her own side too. The only side that has more than one character is where Charlie Brown is with his sister and with his dog, with Peppermint Patty shoehorning herself onto the same side because the whole show is about how she made Charlie Brown provide a Thanksgiving meal for her.
See, I’m gonna go out on a limb here, and say that the people who are making this argument are more than likely bad at paying attention, but if not that, then they are being racist. Feel free to disagree! But my logic is… If someone sees one example of Franklin being excluded like that and instantly thinks “racism” and doesn’t even consider the earlier context of the special, maybe just maybe, they care WAY more about race than the people who made it, who probably just made it as a funny joke about the chair being all screwy. It’s especially baffling because earlier in the special, we see Franklin and Charlie Brown high five and fist bump when they first get to the dinner, and he doesn’t do this for Marcy or Peppermint Patty, which suggests it’s just a special thing they do. Why wasn’t this moment considered when it came to “Franklin is excluded”?
With the abundance of such bad news out there, it was really nice to see a video that made me tear up with joy. This video taught us some cool and interesting facts that we might not have known before. Thank you for the video. I definitely want to watch the Franklin special.
I always find it interesting when artists get flak for being empathetic and measured. But I'm equally impressed when they stand up to injustices in whatever way they can. In an occupation where they stand to lose a lot and gain little. And no one may ever know the details behind their decision. But helping one kid, out there somewhere, feel like they belong makes the risk worth it to them, because they were once a kid too.
Wow!! All around. Wow! And thanks for reminding me about Jump Start! Used to love that strip. I’m in Canada now, and don’t get newspapers, but what a great video this was. 10/10. First time watching you. Thumbs up was definitely easy! ❤😊
In all honesty, I never focused on the fact that Franklin was sitting by himself. Never looked at any racial implications pertaining to the Peanuts cartoons. Appreciate the review! I learned something today. 👍🏾
I'm 62. I remember when Franklin came on the scene. I was so happy to see the Peanuts gang expanding to depict diversity. I look forward to his upcoming special. Thank you for this video.
There was one character who was Asian. Her name was Violet. I haven’t seen Violet in a long time since the Christmas special. I remember one scene in which Violet was running and screaming that there was a bee following her. She runs toward Linus , and Linus twirls his blanket and snaps at the flying insect. It wasn’t a bee, but a butterfly. “It’s just a potato chip,” Linus says.
@@garyreid2178 I’ll have to look for Violet also. It’s very important that children (and adults) are able to see themselves depicted and to see diverse characters. Thank you for your reply.
Charlie Brown was the round-headed kid, Linus was the thumb-sucker, Lucy was the bully, Patty was the tomboy, Schroeder was the musician, Pig-Pen was the dirty kid and Franklin was the black kid. Every character was something...
Linus was Charlie's best friend. If you read the comic strip through the years, you'd see that Franklin was closer to Linus than Charlie. He and Linus would always bond over valuing the wisdom of their grandfathers. This was a good video, but this particular aspect of Franklin should have been mentioned.
@@blvckswvndmv srsly, UA-cam comments is not the place for any sort of fruitful activism. How do you not know this? You're literally observing it In action...
Heartwarming. Frustrating that even in the 70s the south wouldn't even tolerate them in school together. Here we are in 2024 and I wonder how many still feel that way. FAR too many. Kudos to Shultz for taking this step no matter the risk.
People are allowed to be racist, full of hatred, sexist, homophobic... Long as they don't physically attack anyone, all is fair game. Everyone isn't meant to be nice. To each their own. People are too soft. Live and let Iive
I’m so excited about Franklin having his moment. I remember watching the Thanksgiving special as a child and my mother would say: do you see how the black child has the broken seat? I finally have clarity after all these years. Thank you 🙏😊💕
Thank you for the information. Glad to know that Franklin was included to begin a needed healing process for our country. We have a long long way to go but Franklin Armstrong is a beacon of light.
Notice how near the end of the trailer they show almost the exact same table setup but with pizza instead of the "Thanksgiving" food, and Franklin is invited over to the other side.
Thank you for sharing. I had an incorrect opinion of Franklin's addition to the Peanuts. Just proves I should do some research before forming an opinion.
Snoopy is Charlie Brown's best friend. He has said so, iirc. As for humans, CB has spent more time with (and has had more deep/meaningful interactions with) Linus than anyone else in Peanuts through the course of its history. Did some newer material name Franklin as his "iconic best friend"? If so, that's cool. It is good to hear that Peanuts is still a thing and that other characters are getting some love. I loved Jump Start, so it sounds like the newest project is in good hands. Still say it's our favorite WW1 Flying Ace, lol.😉
Yes. Much more important than real world problems. This is important and needed. We don't need lower taxes or affordable housing, we need an obscure cartoon characters backstory to make us whole again
🙋🏾♂️ I grew up with the Peanuts comic strips and TV specials, like the famous “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. In the 1960s we only saw it in B&W and, in my neighborhood (Detroit), we recognized a Black character in the dance scene by his hairstyle and the way he danced. By the time the Thanksgiving special came along in the 1970s, we had a color TV, and there was Franklin, so it was pretty seamless. At the time, I attended a school that was about 90% White, and they were all cool like the Peanuts gang, so I never inspected the show for any racist undertones. Back then, for a Black kid to get invited to hang out with his/her White friends for a holiday party was proof enough of racial acceptance.🙂
My high school was pretty much the same way. We didn't pay much, if any, attention to race or skin color. We all just sort of hung out together, and that was that.
My elementary school in SW Detroit in the early 70's was mostly white but I had two black teachers. 2nd & 3rd grade we were learning about The Underground Railroad, Frederick Douglass & Harriet Tubman. We moved to Inkster in 1975 - lots of black classmates but never had another black teacher and never heard Frederick or Harriet mentioned in history class again. Mrs Smith taught me some good lessons - but man spell a word wrong and those rulers rubber banded together would make you regret it.
Thanks! Charles "Peanuts" Schulz for bringing a human spirit of ❤ and SOUL of a Black character named Franklin to the Charlie Brown gang.🏈✝ And Thanks! TT For The History Of Franklin Robinson in Peanuts.
I'm 53 years ago and I loved Charlie and the gang. Peanuts was my favorite cartoon growing up and I could watch those holiday specials forever. Looking forward to this special. I did not know how Franklin came to be and it makes me feel good to know the background, thanks.
As a brown kid, seeing Franklin was always a treat because it showed life as I saw it, growing up in a diverse neighborhood. Im not black myself ( I’m Latino) but I always gravitated towards Franklin because he represented all PoC in the Peanuts universe.
I remember Franklin. He seemed very level headed in the Peanuts gang. My favorite Peanuts movie is Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown. There is a scene where Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty discover a shack in the woods that had a functioning record player. Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown dance together. Franklin and Marcy dance together.
I’m 59 & I grew up with Charlie Brown TV specials & comic strips & so did my kids. They asked me why Franklin sat by himself on the Thanksgiving show. I had no idea. We finally have answers. Thank you! 🙏🏻
I like how the start basically calls franklin charlie's best friend... I haven't seen much of this series but it sure does seem accurate _(I just read linus was introduced as that, but frank has always seemed the kindest)_
Thank you for this amazing back story of Franklin. I have been a big Peanuts fan ever since I was a kid. When I saw Franklin in the Thanksgiving special, I thought that Franklin was being treated as a very special guest. I never thought of why he was sitting alone when I was a little boy. Now I am 56 and still a fan. I am very excited to see Franklin have his movie. It will be a part of my collection of the Peanuts gang.
Just because Franklin was the only person on his side of the table doesn't mean he sat by himself. Otherwise Linus and Marcy would also be sitting by themselves.
Aw, what a great thing to learn. I had no idea that was how it happened. As a child, I didn't notice as much. I wondered, but I had a child's understanding of things. When I got older and had more of an understanding of the world, I still enjoyed the special, but it did lift my brow a bit. I like that Schultz didnt want to patronize our community. I wish more people would be mindful of this, instead of claiming some things are inclusion and progressivity. Representation is great when done right.
I am not shocked. I am grateful to learn that back in the day people were still open to listening to their readers and caring what they had to say. Imagine that happening today? One can dream...
@@cixiq Wrong. I watched that show as a kid in the 70s. Went to school the next day and didn't hear anyone complaining about it. It is only today's always offended who have made this up.
@@cixiq Every year, through high school, into college and then being married and having kids of my own.. Never heard one complaint about it until the current batch of offended snowflakes.
@@donmcc6573😂 Did you just "It didn't offend me or my friends so it wasn't offensive to anyone in the world" this? Another graduate of the Bazooka Joe School of law.
I read that Schulz sometimes worried that Franklin would turn out to be only a token. I wish that I had met Schulz and told him precisely how important Franklin is to black Americans (and particularly black American cartoonists like me). 💔
Wow!!! Thank you so much sweetie that was informative for me because I loved the peanuts and now I know that Franklin is going to have his own special and that he mattered lol I didn’t know Franklin was just five years older than me😇
I just teared up because Franklin is only a few days older than me! I always loved him and would write to Charles Schultz as a kid asking for a sketch of Franklin (not realizing that he was probably receiving 10,000 other requests a day-Lol). He would write back and send me a sketch of Charlie Brown or Snoopy each time! I still have his letters and the autographed photocopies of Snoopy and Charlie Brown in my childhood photo album.
I didn't notice that until it was pointed out. I can see where people are coming from, but sometimes accidents happen and things have an innocent explaination. Remember the first season of Power Rangers? The African-American actor was the black ranger and the Asian-American actress was the yellow ranger. But it's just how it worked out and not some racist conspiracy.
sometimes accidents happen. and sometimes people are racist. and if they don't tell you why, you have to try to piece it together one of my first memories of racism was going to a denny's with my parents. they seated us at a table, but refused to take our order. my dad tried to get the servers' attention multiple times, but they were all "busy." after a long enough wait, where people who had come in after us had already ordered, gotten their food and left, my dad finally gave up and took us somewhere else every single one of those servers could have told you it wasn't racism. but we still knew
Walter Jones actually clarified that he specifically requested to be the black ranger, not out of race, but just because h liked the color black. As for the yellow ranger, the part was male in the original Japanese footage, but a rather skinny body type. It may have just been a matter of Kimberly already being cast for pink & Trang simply being a good match for the footage actor's slim body. However ti is known the producers of the show were homophobic & treated David Yost poorly, so there is that... though they treated everyone poorly to some degree. The franchise printed money but they all got paid little.
@@diosoth From what I heard is they wanted Jason's best friend to be black. Jason was the Red Ranger and in the original Sentai, the Red Ranger's best friend was the Black Ranger. As far as Trini, well obviously the girly girl Kimberly was going to be the Pink Ranger and the Blue Ranger was frequently shown with gadgets, which aligned with Billy's character. All that was left was yellow.
@@AhtoRashied I mean cmon the sending comics thing and hanging it up on wall? Becoming good friends and using his last name? Thats just wholesome! Perhaps I could've used a better term, hm..heart warming. Sorry to uh. hear about that more diluted pessimistic outlook apropos to intentions of posting, I believe its better to leave your suspicions without fuel to start it. I know that helps me! (nevertheless I was just caught up in the lighthearted aspect of hearing the last moments of this video and hence this grizzly soft hearted spur.)
Very interesting story… I’m glad Franklin Armstrong is a very important character in the “Peanuts Gang”, and I’m also glad that his story will be told in the upcoming show! We need to all set any differences aside and love and help each other as much as we can! Much Love!
I love Franklin ❤ He reminds me of my brother ❤ It would be nice if they had a black girl character as well. When i recently went to knotts back 2021 i hate i didn't buy the Franklin doll. I brought Charlie i have always love Charlie n snoopy. Especially bc i relate to him and problem. I don't go to knotts as i go to Disneyland. But when and if i do go back to knott or if they have an online store i am buying Franklin. Franklin n Charlie love them both. Great segment Taylor. I did learn about the Armstrong guy who u spoke of. I hate i want be able to watch this special smh. I dont have apple tv or whatever it is. Hopefully shhhhh someone place it on UA-cam lol..
I am just glad that the white cartoonist had no desire to obey a Jewish teacher and make a patronizing token character just because of Rev. King dying, but once he realized she was not requesting this as superficial pacifying the black community, and so many black people wrote in requesting they would really like it, he was so happy to do so. I am pissed at how many rewrite history, and try to call all white men The White Man oppressor and racist, canceling everything even Christmas if they think it is too white. I am glad to know the black man who will be the cartoonist to flesh out the background of the black character of that cartoon that is older than I am met the original cartoonist and they had a respectful professional relationship and admiration for one another. I bet some would assume it is yet another DEI thingy. I am now hopeful he will do the right thing and make this a really great cartoon that everyone, any color and born in any era, will love. (And the foolish Southern Jim Crow folks can just eat more crow.)
What is your favorite Peanuts special? Make sure to like and subscribe! Also, Linus is Charlie Browns BFF
No contest. "Great Pumpkin," closely followed by "Charlie Brown Christmas." The other '60s ones are good, but the rest of them you can have.
@@hanschristianbrando5588 "Great Pumpkin is SO iconic.
Still "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." They're all good, but that one has something more.
I like ALL Peanuts.
I base my picks on the ones with the best music. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Be My Valentine, It's the Easter Beagle, There's No Time for Love, Good Sport, etc.
I am 62 years old black woman and growing up watching Franklin on The Peanuts meant so much to me. It was so important having a black character on The Peanuts. He was so cool but not ghetto. Thank you, Mr. Schultz and family. I can't wait to see the new cartoon featuring Franklin. God bless you all.
God bless you dear lady.
I never had the impression that Franklin Armstrong was Charlie Brown's best friend. Franklin seems closer to Peppermint Patty and Marcy, and the three of them sometimes intersect with Charlie Brown's group. From what I've observed, Charlie Brown's best friend is Linus van Pelt. Those two hang around together a lot.
Yes. If you read the strip carefully, you find that Franklin, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie (as well as José Peterson) all live in a different part of town from the rest of the Peanuts gang. For example, when they play baseball, one team has to trek all the way across town (April 7, 1974). Or when Charlie Brown's school building collapses, he has to temporarily go across town to attend Peppermint Patty's school (January 12, 1976), and share a desk with her (January 13, 1976).
The Irish Jewish Black neighborhood?
I believe Charlie Brown doesn’t have any friends - no one that recognizes him as one. I haven’t read a lot of Franklin but I got the idea they came together as different from the rest - kinda like a bond between outcasts.
@@efdangotu It happens. When I was growing up in the 1960s in the Ravenswood Projects of Long Island City, Queens, NY, we had plenty of Black people, but we also had some Irish, Italians, Jews, and Hispanics. In fact, there was a small synagogue just across the street, a couple of blocks from a very large Catholic church.
Well said!🤗👏🏻
I am 64 and have grown up with peanuts I never thought any thing of Franklin, he was just one of the gang.
Understandable. Things have to affect people for them to see the problem. Countless little black children saw this and were affected differently.
@@paulasmall5113 I never thought about him sitting by himself. Your comment is 100% correct.
For people we simple see a character or a person the color or race doesn’t bear deep meaning. We try to uphold what Rev Dr MLK said “judged on the content of their character not the color of their skin.” Most people aren’t racist. The few that are are given a disproportionate amount of attention by media. It’s sad.
That’s you. That doesn’t mean others didn’t see it & was bothered by it. Black people were highly aware
@@QueenmeT Black people start the same as any other person then they get trained to be victims.
One of my favorite Peanuts strips is from the strips where Charlie Brown and Franklin met at the beach. Charlie Brown asks Franklin if his whole family is there with him, and Franklin says no, because his dad is fighting in Vietnam. Charlie Brown then says that his dad was also in a war, but he forgets which one. It makes me laugh because that's such a little kid way of thinking about it.
Yes. Great perception. Seeing through the eyes of children. 😊
Stunning to think if his mom is several years younger than his dad it could have been WW2. And yes, great way of showing how kids perceive things.
I grew up seeing Franklin and being very happy that he was a part of the game, but not knowing much about him. I appreciate the history and look forward to seeing special.
Franklin is like me at a company party.
I just want to eat, not mingle.
Damn. Bless you
Facts
If you´re Black then you make up roughly 14% of the population. Just how represented do you think you should be?
@@jaelge When there was a push to create Franklin the percentage of people who were identified as Black in the U.S. was higher. e.g., nearly 25 percent. Recall that Franklin was created around the Civil Rights Era/ Black representation doesn't have to be just about numbers. It is also a qualitative matter.
I think the comics and shows make it clear that Linus is Charlie’s best friend. Franklin is a cool character and I liked what they did with him in the Peanuts movie. But to be honest I never thought of Franklin as the black kid. I just saw him as one of the Peanuts kids.
I think that if you are of a certain age, you don't because that's just the culture we were brought up in. Kids are just kids.
I just watched it all as a cartoon. I never thought about black or white. It was just entertainment and I loved it.
As a black child, I most definitely noticed that Franklin was black. Not only was he black, he was the only black person in all of peanut land. There is no pride in not "seeing" the race of a person (real or not).
Your statement makes as much sense as saying you don't see gender. Of course you do. And, it's okay that you do.
@@tanyl1 - Excellent comment. Thank you. For me, it was A Snowy Day that gave me the motivation to learn to read. I wanted to read that book myself so badly. All children need to see themselves and yes, they notice very early.
@@tanyl1💯🙌🏾🥰
Franklin was Charlie Brown's best friend? I thought that was Linus.
I thought the same thing!
Yeah, Franklin was absolutely not Charlie Brown’s best friend.
Him or Snoopy. I don't think anyone has ever said Franklin was even remotely close. Just a token black character that people don't want to admit to. It's nothing to be ashamed of in that time period. It was pretty progressive actually. That said, they never put a lot of effort into him.
Oddly enough, Charlie Brown at one point said that Linus was his best friend. After seeing the cartoons, I questioned how good a friend Linus really is. On two occasions he stolen any girl Charlie Brown has a crush on. The Little Red Haired Girl on New Years Eve and some girl that Charlie Brown saw on TV. I'm surprised that Schroeder wasn't his best friend because he was the one that stood up for him when Violet tried to give him a used Valentine!
You can have more than one best friend. Linus might have been the one he hung out with the most but that's mostly because they went to the same school. Linus was the therapist friend that would give Charlie Brown advice but the boy sometimes channeled his sisters negative energy and could be a bit harsh. Franklin was usually a lot nicer and seemed to bond with Charlie Brown about their difficulties fitting in.
Why was I tearing up at this. The Charlie Brown comic is close to my heart.
Ditto
I'm 59 years old and still watch the holiday Charlie Brown classics. They never get old!
Thank you for posting. I was 12 when Franklin debuted, my mon said it was about time and Shultz was brave to do this character. I'm sure it had major impact around many a breakfast table. Good on him.
Were there lots of actual diverse tables where white kids and black kids sat together during that time period? If the answer is no, then Franklin's addition is woke propaganda.
@@colliswilliams8992 Not everyone is as racist as you, and whats wrong with propaganda if it encourages people to love and accept eachother? You can't just call something propaganda to say it's bad because that itself means nothing. But why am I even responding to you? You're just some troll.
Did you notice they introduced Franklin as having gone swimming? Already breaking stereotypes off the bat!
As a black (technically dark brown)person who loves to swim, I was always boggled by that stereotype!
@@kirk1701. Where does it come from?
@@kirk1701 Wait, that was a thing?
@@carpballetIn the Caribbean, a lot of parents are scared of their children drowning while they were busy with something else. They instill fear in their children to stay away from the sea. According to CS Monitor, 80% of Bahamians cannot swim.
@@carpballet In the US and Canada I would assume from discrimination at public pools and low ownership of pools.
Wow. That was so beautiful. I gotta admit, I read and loved Charlie Brown daily as a kid. I was 12 in 1968 and the advent of Franklin never dawned upon me. He was one of the gang. It may also be related that we loved watching The Little Rascals after school, so a Franklin character was a nonissue
That’s a great point! There was the Black kid, Stymie, in Little Rascals, in the 1930s!
@@chuckcribbs3398 there were a few including Farina and Buckwheat.
We were blessed to grow up at a time where we saw a "person" and not a "color".
you may not have seen color, but most everyone else in America did. You should research the context surrounding Buckwheat. It would be awesome if one day a wholesome black neighbor is the norm in an otherwise all white cast.
@@AndreaCallahan These days it's more likely to be one white character in all black cast. But I probably wouldn't watch it anyway, just like why would blacks even want to watch a show with only one black character. There's tons of all black shows they can enjoy. I don't see any issue. Something for everyone.
THANK YOU. My first reaction was that this would be another poorly made modern adaptation. I’m happy to hear that someone with a history and real connection is involved. Fingers crossed that it turns out well.
I was Just visiting the Peanuts Museum in Santa Rosa, You need to go too if you get the chance!
The staff is so knowledgeable about the whole subject especially the recreation of his studio on the 2nd floor, It is next door to the Redwood Empire Ice Rink he built and the history of the Rink is astounding. He was a autograph collector, he loved solitude and His unit in WWII liberated Dachau! Seriously thanks so much for making this, I teared up at your narration. Franklin And Charlie's is so important to the past present and future.
Thank you, I definately have to check it out! I visited the website to do research for the video and it looks amazing by the photos.
When I first got married some 29 years ago, I visited some museum of the Peanuts cartoon, I don't remember which one. It had enlarged pictures of Peanuts strips, but focused, iirc, mostly on Snoopy. I would love to go back there, but I can't remember where it was. Probably somewhere in New York or New Jersey. Maybe Connecticut. I don't know.
I used to love there. I loved walking past the statue. Back in the day, media was so limited anyway. So whether the characters were black or not, there wasn't very much to choose from. I'm 2 years younger than Franklin. There was never this huge, "oh look, black character" moment. He was just another one of the Peanuts gang. The racism is not in the comics.
Maybe Lucy and Schoeder were going to sit at that side of the table, but Schroeder was too caught up in his piano practice and Lucy was too caught up in Schroeder.
I mean, that would be a nice theory, but in the actual special, Charlie Brown knew all the people who were coming before the table was set up outside
I think your right. It's likely Lucy was supposed to be in the special originally but got cut at the last minute. That explains why there's an empty seat with a table setting next to Franklin.
@@joerogers9413 That's fine by me. Lucy was a little b!+(# anyway.
I thought Charlie Brown simply just didn't want Lucy around due to her being so crabby, bossy and rude all the time. Peppermint Patty's response to Charlie Brown's poor Thanksgiving dinner is something I would have expected from Lucy!
That kid gets all the beeches.
Franklin was lucky to sit by himself. He got the whole half of the table to himself
Id rather sit on his side, more elbow room
❤
But he got the weird chair 😭
@@pixelzebra8440 doesn't seem to be doing anything to him like it did to snoopy
Franklin foreseen a pandemic.
I wish they would show the holiday specials of Charlie Brown on t.v. again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just had a conversation with my best friend about Franklin. It encouraged me to dig for Franklin's history and I have forwarded this video to him. Thanks so much for this. 🏆
When I was a kid in the 70s watching the Thanksgiving special I never noticed Franklin sitting by himself. I was too much into the happy spirit of the holiday season to be paying attention to the race of the characters & their seating positions.
That's because this was before idiots obsessed with race and obsessed with getting offended at everything started ruining it for the rest of us
Same here.
😂
I wondered why at first he was by himself on that side since it made the seating uneven and cramped, but then I saw him across from Charlie Brown and instantly thought that was why XD He gets a clear shot to talk to his friend! Better for conversation, duh! lol
Yup. And still to this day at the age of 57 will watch the Charlie Brown The Great Pumpkin, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials. None of this stuff ever crossed my mind. Still doesn't.
I could be wrong here, but I feel like the trick to successfully incorporating a black character into an existing work without it feeling patronizing or like a token character, is to just make the character a person. If you make the character's presence all about the fact that they're black, it's gonna feel forced. If you make the character a decent person who just behaves like a normal person that happens to be black, the only people to complain will be people who care about skin colour.
If Franklin's special is about him meeting new friends and not fitting in at first because he's new, that'll be fine. If it's about him meeting new people and not fitting in because he's black, it's going to be lousy. (Not that that story is inherently bad, but because that's not what Franklin's story is meant to be.)
They might put in the time when Shultz published the comic and have the focus on Franklin coming to find friends who liked him as a person, not his skin color. It might be as you say too, telling his story as a person. I'm not sure about watching it myself, tbh
not fitting in places because I was black was a HUGE part of my upbringing. It may not be part of your upbringing, but it is for a lot of people
it's about writing a good character. race is interwoven throughout our society. acting like it doesn't affect people, or that it doesn't affect people's decision-making, is doing a disservice to the stories of millions of people
@@JasonBoyce Never did I say that it doesn't affect people, or anything like that. I only said that in the case of Franklin's character in Peanuts, that's not the case, thus the new adaptation should stick to that. Adding in racial tension in media where it doesn't need to be only makes racial tensions worse in real life.
@@JasonBoycemove up north. Not as many people will give a crap you’re black or not.
@@TheOtherGuys2 "adding in racial tensions where it doesn't need to be only adds racial tensions in real life" this is bull. multiple newspapers refused to print the strip because Franklin was in it. those racial tensions absolutely existed in real life. In real life, states banned *Sesame Street* because the characters weren't segregated. Acknowledging racism doesn't create racism, racists create racism
Crazy to think that as late as 1970’s editors protested Franklin and Peppermint Patty sitting together in school. Cool story about Franklin’s last name origin. But I always thought Linus was Charlie Brown’s best friend.
Agree, its like you know you a bigot if you dont like a day off for MLK day or June teenth
What's crazy about that?? Do you not know that the Civil Rights Movement ended only after its leader the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968?? I know they call this the 'microwave generation' but really! History is not something far in the past. These things just happened!! Some schools were still segregated in the 1970s!! Don't believe the people who try to put everything bad in the U.S. as something in the distant past that no one living has any connection to. Many of us lived through the segregation and Jim Crow of the U.S. and all sorts of discrimination. And things are still happening today. Just because you see that black people have made a lot of progress in a short period of time, don't be fooled into thinking that was some long gone era. Those same hateful people and their children didn't just die off in 1968.
As a kid watching that scene in the Thanksgiving special I always attributed the fact they weren't sitting next to him was because they were all afraid to be near that crazy broken chair that snoopy had previously struggled with. Later as an adult I noticed it just might be for different reasons. Thanks for clearing that up.
Yes 😅 me to
It's ridiculous when taken more seriously than a joke meme. There were other kids at the edges of the table. At least the special didn't get condescending like superhero movies, and also referenced the beach ball in first appearance.
Glad the vid explained halfway through to spotlight. Schulz wouldn't risk his career if he didn't like Franklin.
Fun fact, Schulz at least succeeded, even a struggle to get Franklin on page with the white girls, unlike Lion Man issue 2 that the retailers just said no to a black superhero that sold.
And now even more grown up, we hear the exact same outrages "USA is and has always been racist!" as we hear from that time we were not actually present to.
So every era has this media manufacturing coming out of it, as if TV is real life, that back then it was so bad we need to enable repercussive action today. Even Israel responds to 1300 dead with 13 000 Plaestinian children, dead.
And how every other media outlet is being canceled, in the name of this "somebody might get outraged" narrative. Risking careers left and right. "remember our victimhood and JUST let us do them in!"
Linus is on his own side and Marcie is on her own side too. The only side that has more than one character is where Charlie Brown is with his sister and with his dog, with Peppermint Patty shoehorning herself onto the same side because the whole show is about how she made Charlie Brown provide a Thanksgiving meal for her.
See, I’m gonna go out on a limb here, and say that the people who are making this argument are more than likely bad at paying attention, but if not that, then they are being racist.
Feel free to disagree! But my logic is…
If someone sees one example of Franklin being excluded like that and instantly thinks “racism” and doesn’t even consider the earlier context of the special, maybe just maybe, they care WAY more about race than the people who made it, who probably just made it as a funny joke about the chair being all screwy.
It’s especially baffling because earlier in the special, we see Franklin and Charlie Brown high five and fist bump when they first get to the dinner, and he doesn’t do this for Marcy or Peppermint Patty, which suggests it’s just a special thing they do.
Why wasn’t this moment considered when it came to “Franklin is excluded”?
With the abundance of such bad news out there, it was really nice to see a video that made me tear up with joy. This video taught us some cool and interesting facts that we might not have known before. Thank you for the video. I definitely want to watch the Franklin special.
I always find it interesting when artists get flak for being empathetic and measured.
But I'm equally impressed when they stand up to injustices in whatever way they can. In an occupation where they stand to lose a lot and gain little. And no one may ever know the details behind their decision. But helping one kid, out there somewhere, feel like they belong makes the risk worth it to them, because they were once a kid too.
I never thought about where Franklin sat. I was too busy being happy to see a Peanuts character who looked like me
Cool.
Wow!! All around. Wow!
And thanks for reminding me about Jump Start! Used to love that strip. I’m in Canada now, and don’t get newspapers, but what a great video this was. 10/10. First time watching you. Thumbs up was definitely easy! ❤😊
Very illuminating. Thank you. I remember when Franklin was introduced. It felt like a big moment. Even the news media covered it.
The person who is being honored often sits alone … and the person who speaks rarely usually says something good ! Mom’s favorite quote !
Thanks for making this. The special is so organic. Nothing seemed forced. Perfection
In all honesty, I never focused on the fact that Franklin was sitting by himself. Never looked at any racial implications pertaining to the Peanuts cartoons. Appreciate the review! I learned something today. 👍🏾
I'm 62. I remember when Franklin came on the scene. I was so happy to see the Peanuts gang expanding to depict diversity. I look forward to his upcoming special. Thank you for this video.
There was one character who was Asian. Her name was Violet. I haven’t seen Violet in a long time since the Christmas special.
I remember one scene in which Violet was running and screaming that there was a bee following her. She runs toward Linus , and Linus twirls his blanket and snaps at the flying insect. It wasn’t a bee, but a butterfly. “It’s just a potato chip,” Linus says.
@@garyreid2178 I’ll have to look for Violet also. It’s very important that children (and adults) are able to see themselves depicted and to see diverse characters. Thank you for your reply.
Charlie Brown was the round-headed kid, Linus was the thumb-sucker, Lucy was the bully, Patty was the tomboy, Schroeder was the musician, Pig-Pen was the dirty kid and Franklin was the black kid. Every character was something...
Finally! we have a Story Arc for Franklin. I hope next we possibly see a story arc for Pigpen, or Shermy.
@@XanderDDS Well, maybe Patty and Marcie should have a story. Velma came out. Patty and Marcy should, too.
That was great information and I truly look forward to watching the Franklin cartoon.
That is cool Franklin is getting a cartoon special.
Why is it cool?
@@AhtoRashied you seriously askin' that?😣
I’m wondering why it’s cool also. 🤷🏾♀️
Linus was Charlie's best friend. If you read the comic strip through the years, you'd see that Franklin was closer to Linus than Charlie. He and Linus would always bond over valuing the wisdom of their grandfathers. This was a good video, but this particular aspect of Franklin should have been mentioned.
Much love to Franklin ❤❤❤❤❤
this is amazing thanks for the video! We all loved the Charlie Brown animation! Snoopy, Lucy, the dirty boy… too..lol! Linus too omg
I never went looking for issues, i just enjoyed the show as a kid. ❤
How fortunate for you.
@@blvckswvndmv So you'd rather they didn't add the Franklin character? Why so snarky?
@@blvckswvndmv go do something useful with that energy.
I find your lack of compassion disturbing.
@@blvckswvndmv srsly, UA-cam comments is not the place for any sort of fruitful activism. How do you not know this? You're literally observing it In action...
Thank you for these awesome facts about Franklin. I had no idea! Liked and subscribed.
Heartwarming. Frustrating that even in the 70s the south wouldn't even tolerate them in school together. Here we are in 2024 and I wonder how many still feel that way. FAR too many. Kudos to Shultz for taking this step no matter the risk.
There are still schools under desegregation order to this day.
@@TheBusyJane Hate to break it to you... But the schools today... The Blacks are WILLINGLY segregating THEMSELVES...
Boston was having riots into the mid-70s over desegregation, so it wasn't as simple as being only a 'southern thing.'
People are allowed to be racist, full of hatred, sexist, homophobic... Long as they don't physically attack anyone, all is fair game. Everyone isn't meant to be nice. To each their own. People are too soft. Live and let
Iive
@@AhtoRashiedBro is defending segregation
Thanks so much for this awesome video and backstory Taylor!
Thanks for giving a little more background that I didn't know!
Thank you for taking the time to make this video, It was very useful and informative
I’m delighted to read this about Franklin. I loooooove the Peanuts. Thanks for the history on Franklin and Schultz❤
I’m so excited about Franklin having his moment. I remember watching the Thanksgiving special as a child and my mother would say: do you see how the black child has the broken seat? I finally have clarity after all these years. Thank you 🙏😊💕
"Charlie Brown Christmas", "The Great Pumpkin", and then "Welcome Home Franklin"! I love them all in that order!
Thank you for the information. Glad to know that Franklin was included to begin a needed healing process for our country. We have a long long way to go but Franklin Armstrong is a beacon of light.
Notice how near the end of the trailer they show almost the exact same table setup but with pizza instead of the "Thanksgiving" food, and Franklin is invited over to the other side.
Its in homage to that scene. It was on purpose.
@@maximusprime3459Yes, I know. It was very very much on purpose. I only brought it up because this video here didn't seem to touch on it.
Pizza is the great uniter!
@@CMZIEBARTH Oh, so you wrote that for the blind. Got it.
@@maximusprime3459And that's bad because...?
I remember Jump Start. Thank uoi for adding Franklin
Thank you for sharing. I had an incorrect opinion of Franklin's addition to the Peanuts. Just proves I should do some research before forming an opinion.
Snoopy is Charlie Brown's best friend. He has said so, iirc.
As for humans, CB has spent more time with (and has had more deep/meaningful interactions with) Linus than anyone else in Peanuts through the course of its history.
Did some newer material name Franklin as his "iconic best friend"? If so, that's cool.
It is good to hear that Peanuts is still a thing and that other characters are getting some love. I loved Jump Start, so it sounds like the newest project is in good hands.
Still say it's our favorite WW1 Flying Ace, lol.😉
Thanks for making this video! There’s so much about Franklin that we don’t know, so he needs a backstory.
Yes. Much more important than real world problems. This is important and needed. We don't need lower taxes or affordable housing, we need an obscure cartoon characters backstory to make us whole again
Beautiful History lesson. Thank you.
“Franklin. Charlie Brown’s iconic best friend.”
I thought Linus was Charlie Brown’s best friend.
Linus is lil bro
Linus IS Charlie's best friend.
I thought Snoopy was Charlie Brown's best friend.
🙋🏾♂️ I grew up with the Peanuts comic strips and TV specials, like the famous “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. In the 1960s we only saw it in B&W and, in my neighborhood (Detroit), we recognized a Black character in the dance scene by his hairstyle and the way he danced. By the time the Thanksgiving special came along in the 1970s, we had a color TV, and there was Franklin, so it was pretty seamless. At the time, I attended a school that was about 90% White, and they were all cool like the Peanuts gang, so I never inspected the show for any racist undertones. Back then, for a Black kid to get invited to hang out with his/her White friends for a holiday party was proof enough of racial acceptance.🙂
My high school was pretty much the same way. We didn't pay much, if any, attention to race or skin color. We all just sort of hung out together, and that was that.
My elementary school in SW Detroit in the early 70's was mostly white but I had two black teachers. 2nd & 3rd grade we were learning about The Underground Railroad, Frederick Douglass & Harriet Tubman. We moved to Inkster in 1975 - lots of black classmates but never had another black teacher and never heard Frederick or Harriet mentioned in history class again. Mrs Smith taught me some good lessons - but man spell a word wrong and those rulers rubber banded together would make you regret it.
Thanks! Charles "Peanuts" Schulz for bringing a human spirit of ❤ and SOUL of a Black character named Franklin to the
Charlie Brown gang.🏈✝ And Thanks! TT For The History Of Franklin Robinson in Peanuts.
I'm 53 years ago and I loved Charlie and the gang. Peanuts was my favorite cartoon growing up and I could watch those holiday specials forever. Looking forward to this special. I did not know how Franklin came to be and it makes me feel good to know the background, thanks.
Very interesting! Good video
As a brown kid, seeing Franklin was always a treat because it showed life as I saw it, growing up in a diverse neighborhood. Im not black myself ( I’m Latino) but I always gravitated towards Franklin because he represented all PoC in the Peanuts universe.
That mentality is not innate, it is taught.
So much respect. Thank you for the video 😌
I always considered Franklin the Everyman character; he was the sane one who got to react to all the other zany characters around him.
Thank you for providing this information about Franklin. It is very interesting and helpful to know this.
Thank you for this. People really were trying behind the scenes. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Isn't Charlie's best friend Linus? I know him and Franklin are close but...
🎉Yes. You are totally right! I was going to say that. But you beat me to it!
Linus is significantly younger than Charlie Brown, so their dynamic is a little different
@@LincolnDWardI thought they were the same age, and that Linus and Lucy were twins. Rerun was the younger Van Pelt sibling.
@@728huey Linus is younger than Lucy and Rerun is younger than both of them. In Linus' first appearance in the strip, he was still a baby.
Lucy is younger than Charlie Brown as well (seen in early strips) but they are still in the same grade I think
I wasn’t expecting to learn anything today let alone something that cool. And I didn’t know about this new special either. Thank you.
I remember Franklin. He seemed very level headed in the Peanuts gang. My favorite Peanuts movie is Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown. There is a scene where Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty discover a shack in the woods that had a functioning record player. Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown dance together. Franklin and Marcy dance together.
I’m 59 & I grew up with Charlie Brown TV specials & comic strips & so did my kids. They asked me why Franklin sat by himself on the Thanksgiving show. I had no idea. We finally have answers. Thank you! 🙏🏻
I like how the start basically calls franklin charlie's best friend... I haven't seen much of this series but it sure does seem accurate
_(I just read linus was introduced as that, but frank has always seemed the kindest)_
Thank you for this amazing back story of Franklin. I have been a big Peanuts fan ever since I was a kid. When I saw Franklin in the Thanksgiving special, I thought that Franklin was being treated as a very special guest. I never thought of why he was sitting alone when I was a little boy. Now I am 56 and still a fan. I am very excited to see Franklin have his movie. It will be a part of my collection of the Peanuts gang.
Just because Franklin was the only person on his side of the table doesn't mean he sat by himself. Otherwise Linus and Marcy would also be sitting by themselves.
If they were really going to be racist, Franklin would not have even been invited.
Aw, what a great thing to learn. I had no idea that was how it happened. As a child, I didn't notice as much. I wondered, but I had a child's understanding of things. When I got older and had more of an understanding of the world, I still enjoyed the special, but it did lift my brow a bit. I like that Schultz didnt want to patronize our community. I wish more people would be mindful of this, instead of claiming some things are inclusion and progressivity. Representation is great when done right.
If I could describe Franklin’s personality to me it’s a mixture of peppermint Patty and Marcy mixed in with an every man
The three of them originally attended the same school together.
Thank you for this documentary.
I am not shocked. I am grateful to learn that back in the day people were still open to listening to their readers and caring what they had to say. Imagine that happening today? One can dream...
Nobody thought anything about where Franklin sat until the era of the always offended.
wrong, it sparked controversy even then.
@@cixiq Wrong. I watched that show as a kid in the 70s. Went to school the next day and didn't hear anyone complaining about it. It is only today's always offended who have made this up.
@@donmcc6573 of course you and your schoolmates didn’t complain, you were KIDS who didn’t understand how harmful that could be.
@@cixiq Every year, through high school, into college and then being married and having kids of my own.. Never heard one complaint about it until the current batch of offended snowflakes.
@@donmcc6573😂 Did you just "It didn't offend me or my friends so it wasn't offensive to anyone in the world" this?
Another graduate of the Bazooka Joe School of law.
I love you Dr. King. You will always be my hero.
The character of “Token Black” in South Park was satire about Franklin.
I didn't know that
Thanks so much for your video, it's really interesting to find out about Arnstrong's story and how he was created.
I read that Schulz sometimes worried that Franklin would turn out to be only a token. I wish that I had met Schulz and told him precisely how important Franklin is to black Americans (and particularly black American cartoonists like me). 💔
Credit to Shultz for being mindful of that, though. To him, it was never about losing readers
Wow!!! Thank you so much sweetie that was informative for me because I loved the peanuts and now I know that Franklin is going to have his own special and that he mattered lol I didn’t know Franklin was just five years older than me😇
I thought Franklin was distancing himself from Peppermint Patty and her bombastic rant!
Charlie& Franklin, now and forever Sunday Comic Strips Bruhs. 💗😄
What did you think about the special? I thought it was adorable.
Yes, I thought it was adorable as well, and thoughtful. Every line meant something and I almost cried at the end.
I LOVE JUMP START! Thank you.
glad this popped up on my feed :)
Didn’t know I needed this til I did, thank you.
This is very unique. I love it.
I just teared up because Franklin is only a few days older than me!
I always loved him and would write to Charles Schultz as a kid asking for a sketch of Franklin (not realizing that he was probably receiving 10,000 other requests a day-Lol).
He would write back and send me a sketch of Charlie Brown or Snoopy each time!
I still have his letters and the autographed photocopies of Snoopy and Charlie Brown in my childhood photo album.
Awesome! What a treasure!
I didn't notice that until it was pointed out. I can see where people are coming from, but sometimes accidents happen and things have an innocent explaination.
Remember the first season of Power Rangers? The African-American actor was the black ranger and the Asian-American actress was the yellow ranger. But it's just how it worked out and not some racist conspiracy.
sometimes accidents happen. and sometimes people are racist. and if they don't tell you why, you have to try to piece it together
one of my first memories of racism was going to a denny's with my parents. they seated us at a table, but refused to take our order. my dad tried to get the servers' attention multiple times, but they were all "busy."
after a long enough wait, where people who had come in after us had already ordered, gotten their food and left, my dad finally gave up and took us somewhere else
every single one of those servers could have told you it wasn't racism. but we still knew
Walter Jones actually clarified that he specifically requested to be the black ranger, not out of race, but just because h liked the color black. As for the yellow ranger, the part was male in the original Japanese footage, but a rather skinny body type. It may have just been a matter of Kimberly already being cast for pink & Trang simply being a good match for the footage actor's slim body. However ti is known the producers of the show were homophobic & treated David Yost poorly, so there is that... though they treated everyone poorly to some degree. The franchise printed money but they all got paid little.
@@diosoth From what I heard is they wanted Jason's best friend to be black. Jason was the Red Ranger and in the original Sentai, the Red Ranger's best friend was the Black Ranger. As far as Trini, well obviously the girly girl Kimberly was going to be the Pink Ranger and the Blue Ranger was frequently shown with gadgets, which aligned with Billy's character. All that was left was yellow.
Thank you for writing this you make my day
Dude what, the last 30 seconds of Schulz and armstrongs relations is so utterly wholesome- 🥹
How? Or did you simply feel the need to say wholesome to gain likes because it's a go to buzz word currently
@@AhtoRashied I mean cmon the sending comics thing and hanging it up on wall? Becoming good friends and using his last name? Thats just wholesome! Perhaps I could've used a better term, hm..heart warming.
Sorry to uh. hear about that more diluted pessimistic outlook apropos to intentions of posting, I believe its better to leave your suspicions without fuel to start it. I know that helps me! (nevertheless I was just caught up in the lighthearted aspect of hearing the last moments of this video and hence this grizzly soft hearted spur.)
oh and thank you!
I’m 58, never knew this. Great stuff. I have to share this.
Very interesting story… I’m glad Franklin Armstrong is a very important character in the “Peanuts Gang”, and I’m also glad that his story will be told in the upcoming show! We need to all set any differences aside and love and help each other as much as we can! Much Love!
I love Franklin ❤
He reminds me of my brother ❤
It would be nice if they had a black girl character as well.
When i recently went to knotts back 2021 i hate i didn't buy the Franklin doll. I brought Charlie i have always love Charlie n snoopy. Especially bc i relate to him and problem. I don't go to knotts as i go to Disneyland. But when and if i do go back to knott or if they have an online store i am buying Franklin. Franklin n Charlie love them both. Great segment Taylor. I did learn about the Armstrong guy who u spoke of. I hate i want be able to watch this special smh. I dont have apple tv or whatever it is. Hopefully shhhhh someone place it on UA-cam lol..
I never knew this, Thankyou, thank you, thank you, for this post!
I am just glad that the white cartoonist had no desire to obey a Jewish teacher and make a patronizing token character just because of Rev. King dying, but once he realized she was not requesting this as superficial pacifying the black community, and so many black people wrote in requesting they would really like it, he was so happy to do so.
I am pissed at how many rewrite history, and try to call all white men The White Man oppressor and racist, canceling everything even Christmas if they think it is too white.
I am glad to know the black man who will be the cartoonist to flesh out the background of the black character of that cartoon that is older than I am met the original cartoonist and they had a respectful professional relationship and admiration for one another.
I bet some would assume it is yet another DEI thingy. I am now hopeful he will do the right thing and make this a really great cartoon that everyone, any color and born in any era, will love. (And the foolish Southern Jim Crow folks can just eat more crow.)
Looking forward to learning more about Franklin Armstrong.
Awesome 💯😎 and yes I'm waiting to learn more about who Franklin is.